Determination of trace sodium in the water-steam system of power plants using an FIA/ISE method with an automatic penetration and alkalization apparatus.

A new method for the rapid determination of trace-level sodium ion based on flow-injection analysis (FIA) and an ion selective electrode (ISE) is proposed. Various effects on the sensitivity of the method such as the flow rate and alkalinity of the carrier, sampling volume, temperature, length of reaction coil, length and thickness of alkalization tube, concentration of the alkalizing reagent etc. were investigated. The optimum conditions were ascertained. The method showed good linearity in the concentration ranges of 0.5 - 10 microg L(-1) and 10 - 100 microg L(-1), and could deal with 40 - 50 samples per hour. The consumption of the sample is only 0.80 mL per time. The relative standard deviation was 0.55%, and the recovery range was 98 - 103%. By designing a hermetically sealed single-line FIA-ISE manifold, a problem removing the interference of sodium ion from air could be solved, and automatic alkalization of the sample was realized. This method has been used for successfully determining the trace-level sodium ions in the water-steam system at fossil power plants.